Vehicles of various types have been provided with vehicle bodies having cargo and personnel carrying spaces which incorporate various restraining systems. Some of these cargo restraining or anchoring systems have been designed for particular types of vehicle bodies.
Several types of vehicle bodies, including bodies used in trucks, have been constructed for various cargo and personnel carrying purposes. One type of vehicle body has utilized a sheet and post construction having a skeletal frame of aluminum support posts and aluminum sheet panels connected between the posts. In certain designs of these sheet and post vehicle bodies, plywood sheets have been inserted in the interior of the vehicle body behind the metal skeletal frame. Another type of vehicle body has been constructed utilizing panels made of wood, plywood, or fiberglass reinforced materials including fiberglass reinforced plywood (FRP) and fiberglass reinforced polymers or plastics. Such fiberglass reinforced panels generally include a pair of fiberglass layers sandwiching a layer of plywood or polymer material such as polyester.
Cargo anchoring systems generally have been connected with these vehicle bodies in the cargo carrying spaces by nails, screws, bolts or other fasteners connected and extending through holes drilled through the thickness of the panels. These anchoring systems have typically included a skeletal frame connected to the panels of the sheet metal or panelled vehicle body by such fasteners extending through the vehicle body panels. The fasteners generally extend through the entire thickness of the panel and protrude to the outside of the vehicle body.
One anchoring system which has been used with such vehicle body types includes a series of vertical, Z-post skeletal frames which can be fastened or connected into and through the panels of the vehicle body. An anchoring plate can be secured to the Z-post skeleton frame and extended across the Z-post skeleton frame. The anchoring plate extends from the inner surface of the vehicle body panel into the interior of the vehicle body a distance up to several inches. These anchoring plates generally extend into the interior of the vehicle body to provide space for connecting a vehicle anchoring mechanism with the anchoring plate between the anchoring plate and the vehicle panel. Cargo straps with buckles and other anchoring mechanisms have been utilized with these tracking systems in the cargo carrying space to secure cargo. Use of these Z-post tracking systems for cargo restraint thereby reduces the cargo carrying capacity in the vehicle body on each side wall, and anywhere else that such anchoring systems are connected. Other panel trucks have also had tracking plates screwed directly to the panels with associated problems described herein.
Further, these skeleton frame anchoring systems generally require a wooden scuff plate which is attached to the bottom of the side walls and extends about two inches into the cargo carrying space. The scuff plate is generally necessary to protect the Z-post anchoring systems from damage by cargo during operation. These scuff plates also can reduce available cargo space in such trucks.
Various fasteners, for example buttonhead nuts, positioned on the outer surface of the vehicle body have secured such screws, bolts and fasteners. Advertising in various forms, including company or product names or logo's and product illustrations, can cover the outer surface of such trucks. This advertising can be hindered or interrupted by the fasteners positioned on the outer surface of the truck.
Vehicle bodies having such anchoring systems can also experience water seepage and damage and heat loss due to the presence of such fasteners secured through the panels as well as problems such as rust, shear and other failures of the fasteners. More specifically, under various conditions of operation, these truck bodies can experience high temperatures of 150-165 degrees Fahrenheit within the cargo carrying space. Under such extreme temperature conditions, these truck bodies experience tremendous sweating and condensation whereby moisture can enter the panels through the holes and cause rotting and other damage to the panels. Rain, snow and other moisture from the environment can also enter the holes caused by the fasteners from the outside and damage and decay the panels. The screws and bolts which protrude through the panel to the outside of the panel create an avenue for heat loss, whereby heat transfer occurs through the screws or bolts. This is especially a problem in the trucks having refrigerated truck bodies or climate controlled environments.
Therefore, there is a need for an anchoring system for use with a vehicle body which can provide a flexible anchoring system for truck bodies, including panelled truck bodies, which reduces lost cargo carrying capacity due to the anchoring system. Further, there is a need for a cargo anchoring system for use with a vehicle body which can reduce water seepage and decay in vehicle body panels and can reduce heat loss through the panels and fasteners. Also, there is a need for a flexible anchoring system which can be placed at various locations in a vehicle body. Still further, there is a need for an anchoring system for a vehicle body which can facilitate the display of advertising on the outside of a vehicle body.